Improvement in under-garments



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LYDIA P. BONNEY.

UNDERGARMENTS. No. 171,467. Patented Dec. 28,1875.

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LYDIA P. BONNEY.

UNDERGARMENTS. No.171,467. Patented Dec. 28, 1875.

all the above-specified defects. improved under-garments for women and chil- UNITEI) STATES PATENT QFFIOE LYDIA P. BONNEY, oF OHIOAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoR To AGNES RYAN, OF

SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN UNDER-GARMENTS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 171,467, dated December 28, 1875; application filed December 19, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, LYDIA P. BONNEY, of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and Improved Under-Garments and Patterns thereof, for Women and Children, (which improvement Ihave assigned to AGNES RYAN, of the same place, before grant of Letters Patent,) of which the following is a'specication:

This invention relates to the art of manufacturing under-garments for women and children, and is designed to afford a satisfactory remedy for the evils arising from the defects of such as have hitherto been in use.

v Among the defects and evils above' alluded to are the following: First, such garments have been kept in place by being fastened, more or less tightly, around the waist, and have been supported, chiefly, by the hips, thus unduly compressing the vital organs, and bearing them down by the weight Gf the clothing, thereby causing or inducing serious weakness or disease; second, such garments have heretofore been so open, and so thin about the lower limbs, as to expose them unduly to the damp andV cold, resulting, during inclement weather, in the great discomfort ofthe wearer, and in manycases in ill health.

Many efforts have been made to remedy these evils, but I am not aware that any has been successful in rea-ching a satisfactory result except my own.` All the other so-called improved under-garments for women and children which I have seen or heard described are seriously defective, particularly in the matters of elegance, comfort, fitting the form, properly supporting the outer-garments, and adaptability to diii'erent classes of fabrics and of persons.

By my said invention I successfully remedy My new and dren are in themselves elegant articles of apparel.` They can be made of any fabric commonly used for such garments. They can be easily and neatly fitted to the forms of different persons. They support theweight of the clothing from the shoulders. They avoid serious pressure on the waist. They protect the body and limbs better than any others. vThey can be changed in details, to suit the tastes of different persons. Theyrequire less material and a less number of garmentsto give proper protection to the body than the former styles. These garments are designed to take the place of the common chemise, under-vest, and drawers, and are for the proper protection of the body, supportingpthe weight of the clothing from the shoulders, and relieving the vital organs from pressure.

To enable others skilled in theart and having the proper authority to manufacture garments according to my said invention, I have constructed complete sets of patterns of the same, which, with the' mode of using the same, I will now describe.

Garment D is composed of'siX pieces. Onehalfjof the same are represented by the three patterns A', B', and C', and, of course, the other half of the garment will be made in precisely the same manner. Pattern A `is one, half of the front; pattern Bis one-half of the back 5 pattern C is for the sleeve, cut in one piece, and gathered at the elbow. In making the garment, the parts A and B are joined by a double-felled seam. This garment is to take the place ofthe common under shirt or vest, and under-drawers, is usually made of flannel, and

requires about four yards of thirty-five-inch cloth.

Garment F is composed of ten pieces, onehalf of which are represented bythe five pat'- terns A B C D E, and, of course, the other half of the garment will be made in precisely the same manner. Pattern C is the leg and front of the waist or body part. It is singlebreasted. Patterns Dr and E are half of the back and the side back of the waist, to which the back part of C is gatheredI Pattern A is the sleeve of the garment. Pattern B is a bosom-puff, which is inserted in the front of the garment. This garment is to take the place of the common chemise and outerdrawers. It is made of any suitable material, and requires about four yards of ordinary width.

The garments above described may be va- Tied in many minor details, according to the nature of the fabric used and the taste of the person; and the patterns given in the accompanying drawings are intended to be general' guides for the use of my invention, suiiciently accurate for all practical purposes.

lt will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that the essential principle of my invention consists in so constructing the said garment, and in so adapting it to the other articles of the apparel, that the complex result of an elegant, comfortable, and easily-supported dress is secured; and I believe that in securing,gby the means and in the manner above described, the general complex result above set forth, I have made, by my invention, a great and important advance in the art of manufacturing under-garments for women and children'.

The essential features of my invention are contained in my garment D', and I regard my garment F as a modification and adaptation of the first garment to the somewhat different uses of the second.

My garment D' is usually made of annel, and garment F of cotton or linen. In knit goods the form is iitted by the elasticity of the fabric, while in my garments the patterns are so shaped that, when united` they fit the form without pressure, and support the weight chiefly from the shoulders.

It is obvious that my garments will not act as abdominal supporters unless specially modiiied to secure that result. My aim is to supply the needs and conform to the exacting taste of the great majority of ladies, by providing garments which will be agreeable to the eye, as well as healthful and pleasant to wear.

My said invention does not consist merely in a union of an upper and a lower garment, nor merely in acombination of a body-garment, so called, with leg-pieces, 'and connected by buttons, seams, or the like; but in the construction of one new and continuous gar# ment fitted to the form without undue pressure on the vital organs, and supported almost wholly from the shoulders, to take the place of the common under-shirt or vest and underdrawers, and of a like garment to take the place of the common chemise and outer drawers, both of said garments being so adapted to the other articles of dress and to the prevailing styles of apparel, as to meet the demands both of healthand an exacting taste.

I am aware of the patents to Susan Taylor Converse and Erastus S. Bennett, respectively, and disclaim the essential features of `thevsame, regarding those of my own gar-` ments as distinctly dii'erent, as will fully appear from the following specification and patterne of my said garments.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The patterns A' B' C', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The garment D', composed of the pieces A', B', and C', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. rlhe patterns A, B, C, D, and E, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The garment F, composed of the pieces A, B, C, D, and E, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

LYDIA r. BONNEY.

Witnesses:

AGNES RYAN. CALLIE L. BoNNEY, FLORENCE P. BoNNEY. 

